I'll Keep You Safe
by mockingjayne
Summary: Wyatt's always taken his job very seriously, especially when it comes to securing the safety of a certain someone. [Lyatt]


The first time he'd done it, she'd been a clumsy mess. A hoop skirt had whacked him in the head as she precariously maneuvered herself into her seat. She'd felt like she had been trying to contain a balloon beneath her, continually floating up around her, threatening to take her right along with it.

After their first mission, in which she had nervously fumbled with the seatbelt, her hands shaking so badly, she wasn't sure she'd be able to buckle everything in place. He'd watched her with a bemused grin, having quickly fastened himself in even after throwing back a few drinks. It was the kind of embarrassment that surges through you when your anxiety has already taken off. She'd become so overwhelmed that even a simple task was near impossible, and the more she tried to focus, the more flustered she became.

At least that's what she'd told herself, as her wild brown eyes flickered to his relaxed blue, steady, calm, like right before a storm. She knew she likely looked like a deer caught in the headlights, unable to move or function.

 _"Are all these seat belts really necessary?"_

She sat nervously pulling at the straps, until eventually, she figured out the right arrangement to strap herself in. At that point, so many conflicting anxieties were demanding her attention, she wasn't sure if it was the time travel the claustrophobia or the smug look on Wyatt's face as he called her _"ma'am"_ that would eat away at her first.

As Lucy sat pushing down the huge skirt, her worried eyes, this time caught between the news of Amy disappearing and being shoved, once again, into this damn death machine, she didn't even realize what he was doing, until he had his hands meticulously strapping her in, safely. Only their third time sitting in these seats, and yet he'd already mastered the skill like a habit, as if his hands had already predicted that this was something he'd be doing for quite some time.

He'd promised that they were gonna fix everything that day, and she often wonders if he knew that even now, they'd still be attempting to do so.

xxxxx

The second time it happened, she hadn't even struggled. She'd just as soon sat in her seat, when he'd leaned over, taking on the habit as a duty of his to keep her safe. At this point, the nerves weren't as bad, never fully quieted, but enough so that her hands didn't shake at the thought. But as he leaned across the small space, his fingers nimbly situating her, making jokes about the engagement ring she'd forgotten to take off, she couldn't help but feel more comfortable than she had the past few days.

"To who?" He asks, a shocked look passing his face, as he continues to focus on the task at hand.

"Exactly," she rambles, telling him of a man she knows nothing about. Her chair swiveled to the side, so he could get a better angle over her dress, not even a flash of surprise or concern flitting across her face as he does so.

"So are you gonna take his name or keep your own?" He asks with that same smug half grin that he'd given her the first time they'd met. One that she often finds herself wondering if he reserves such a smirk just for her or one that he graciously hands out to everyone.

A thought that she just as soon attempts to banish from her head as soon as she thinks it, not wanting to become too reliant on someone who was likely to disappear on her too.

xxxxx

The next mission, she finds herself quickly attempting to buckle herself in, and she thinks she'd just about succeeded, as he goes for his own seatbelt, until she finds his warm hands atop of her's, and he's not even looking at her when she sends him a pointed look, that quietly slides into a barely there grin, enjoying the feeling of him way more than she should.

She knows something's off when she finds herself struggling on their way to the Alamo, and he makes no move to help. It's not that she's incapable of doing it herself, but she'd become accustomed to the ritual, the assurance that at least for this part of the trip, she was safe, his hands demanding it. But as she squints down at the clicks and straps, she finds no helping hand reaching her way.

"Don't look at me, I just got fired," he blurts out, her head whipping up to meet his eyes. Her hands pause, refusing to further submit herself to this journey without him. The tingling of something she can't quite place bubbling within her, manifesting itself as a panic at the thought of this being the end.

She'd already lost her sister, the work they were doing offering the only comfort these days, feeling more at home in that Lifeboat with her team than at her actual home with a missing sibling or a fiancé she didn't know. The familiar hue of blue she often found staring back at her, the soft pressure of his fingertips whispering across her as they secured her, the only form of care she really allowed herself to feel.

It isn't until they're back in the Lifeboat, unscathed, her confession fizzling with tension between them that she finds herself reaching for the straps behind her, only to be met with his hands on either side of her head, having already begun to get her situated before himself.

Her eyes search his own, refusing to leave the blue tempest that swirls still with tears he'd left unshed. His hands work their magic between them, never once looking down to see what he's doing, and a heavy sigh of relief escapes her lips, hitting him, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest at how close he was.

As he pulls down, locking her in tight, he gives her that grin, lopsided, dimpled, sending waves over her, until she finds her lip curling into the exact same one, mirroring her thanks to him, in the same way he can't help but share that exchange with someone who'd just admitted she cared.

"All good, ma'am," he teased.

Settling back into his seat, the silent promise that as long as he could help it, he wasn't going anywhere. She'd given him a reason to stay, watery smiles sealing the deal.

It wasn't until he was gone did she realize how much she missed that exchange, that reassuring gesture that Wyatt was there, he would keep her safe. Others failing to offer the same form of comfort.

Each trip was the same, and yet so very different. If they were mad, frustrated, he'd make it quick, never rough, but no eye contact, not even anger able to break his promise of keeping her safe. An almost sensual act as the months went by, his fingers lingering, almost tickling on the way back from Hollywood, the prying eyes of Rufus glancing back every once in a while, as it took him longer than usual to make sure she was in, tight. Her hands finding themselves matching his movements, grabbing onto his hand, stilling his movements for a second, her thumb tracing his knuckles with a shy smile, until they heard a cough, that had him lowering himself back into his own seat, his own hands fumbling this time around with attempting to get himself situated. She couldn't even bite back the little laugh at his nervous hands trying to get things right.

xxxxxx

"Alright, Miss, let's get you strapped in." Lucy smiles, as he ever so delicately places her in her seat. His hands dwarf her body, as she squirms, his eyes growing wide at her discomfort, jaw clenching. His eyes panicky, as he glances around, catching her brown eyes in his stormy gaze. She nods with a smile for him to continue.

He moves his fingers to grab the straps, suddenly more nervous than he remembers ever being, as he stares at the puzzle of clasps, waiting to be assembled.

 _"Are all these seat belts really necessary?"_ She nearly laughs, but instead raises an eyebrow, and he sighs.

"No, I know they are, but…how are they supposed to fit?" He almost whispers the last part, his brow knitting together in concentration.

"Do you need help?" Lucy asks, moving forward, but stops when he shakes his head, as a whimper is heard.

"We got this," he says, more to himself than to her. His fingers slowly but surely moving, and Lucy takes a sip of her tea, flipping her hair to one side, as she watches Wyatt work his magic.

She can't say that she hadn't imagined this moment. In fact, she distinctly remembers this thought floating past her consciousness not even a year ago, as she harbored a secret that he didn't know yet. He'd unknowingly traced its existence in his move to keep her safe, and now, here he was, doing the same to her.

"There," he says with a laugh, stepping back to admire his work. Lucy walks over to him, placing a hand on his back, heated from the tea mug she'd been gripping, gently scratching with her barely there nails.

"She looks so cute," Lucy all but coos at their sleeping daughter in her car seat.

"I can't believe she didn't wake up for that," he says, leaning down again to make sure she was secure in her seat. Her dark lashes fluttering across her skin as she dreams. Her tiny hands resting against her chubby, infant cheeks, almost as if gripping onto the straps, peacefully sleeping.

"I wish I had been that relaxed on my first trip," Lucy jokes, remembering a time when she too had gripped the straps of her seat belt, a smug Wyatt grinning across from her. "Must take after you," she nudges him, with her shoulder, a half grin teasing him.

"Hey, if you had had a few drinks, you'd have been like me too," he shoots back, and she shakes her head. "Or maybe not," he laughs, knowing that she very well would've been a mess no matter her state.

"Hi, sweetheart," she says in a soft voice, reaching out to trace her tiny daughter's nose, her mouth moving at the touch.

"Are you sure about this?" Wyatt asks, worriedly glancing between the bedroom door and their baby girl.

"Hmm," Lucy hums, before focusing her attention back on Wyatt, his eyes refusing to leave the baby. "We've been given clearance, it's just for a little while. It's not like we're taking her in the Lifeboat, she hasn't been out since she was born," and she can see him clench his jaw at the mention of her birth. The lingering fear still present, refusing to relinquish it's hold on him, instead only multiplying with every day that passed.

Lucy brushes the hair from his forehead, sliding down across his face, the pricking of her fingers from the stubble he'd let grow a bit longer than usual.

"Hey, look at me," she moves his chin to look up at her. "We're okay," the assurance feeling odd even to her own tongue.

"For now," he mutters.

"Okay, can we just take _a_ second," she says in a cadence that has him fighting back a grin. "Because we're all here…together…happy," she hits his shoulder with her hip, causing a full blown smile to erupt from him. A tug on her hand, having her leaning over so his lips can whisper against her own, sweet, and warm.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good, now let's do this," Lucy says with a smirk, and Wyatt reaches for the car set, gently picking it up.

"You taking her out," Rufus asks, suddenly appearing in the hall.

"Yep," Lucy answers, only to see Rufus putting his hand up, as if whispering into the little girl's ear.

"You might want to hold on. I've seen how your dad drives," he teases.

"Funny," Wyatt says, with a lift of his brow, sending their friend on his way.

The swing of movement, rustles the tiny girl awake, her blue eyes peeking out under heavy eye lids, sleep still lingering, an unfocused look up at them.

"You ready, Miss Katie?" Wyatt asks, and Lucy finds her heart melting at how sweet he is with her. And she doesn't miss him checking once more that she was strapped in correctly.

A once formed habit out of obligation, a mission to keep Lucy safe in every way, had transformed into a gesture of care, love, now a necessity. An extension of themselves relying on them both to keep her safe. Safeguarding his life, his love.

Lucy gives him a nervous smile, her brown eyes looking almost black in the dim light. That same smirk shot her way, the one she'd met what felt like a lifetime ago, still playing on his lips whenever he looked at her.

The overwhelming feeling of what had been gained since that first trip not lost on either of them as they once again prepared for a trip, this time with an new passenger.

xxxxx

 _helllllllo. so as i was writing fight to keep, one line really stood out to me as being something i'd like to see, wyatt strapping his baby girl into a car seat. because come on, for as careful as he is with lucy, he'd be a worried mess when it came to their baby. and this idea was born from that. it can absolutely be read as a companion piece to fight to keep, as i wrote it taking place in the same universe. i just couldn't pass up the opportunity for wyatt making sure his tiny little miss was safe._

 _anyway, please let me know what you think._


End file.
